Progressive Poker Learning
Being a dedicated learner is one of the most important factors in being successful, not only in poker, but in life. Constantly staying abreast of changes in the world makes you a more formidable player in the game of life. Poker can be considered a microcosm of the real world, and as poker has been growing exponentially, so has the study of poker theory and strategy. By committing yourself to learning something new as often as possible, you can keep up with and even surpass your opponents in abilities and in overall success.
Many players believe that by putting in excessive hours and hands, they are increasing their understanding of the game. This is true, but only to a point. If you practice the wrong things, and don’t take time to learn from your mistakes, you are doing damage to your game rather than improving it. If you are going to commit yourself to playing a large volume of hands, you should also take time to review and study the key hands from your sessions, think about them in retrospect and discuss them with other players. Decide what you did well, and what you could improve on. It is always easy to make a play after the fact, but making plays in tempo is what poker is all about, and by learning the plays ahead of time like a good quarterback in football, you can be one step ahead of your opponents.
The great thing about poker is that it is a lifetime game, and even players like Doyle Brunson who have been around card games for decades will still attest to the fact that they learn new things every day.
It is telling when the most profound of minds in the game will stand humbled at some of the young players whose work ethics trump their own. The work ethics of many young players is extraordinary, and has brought a whole new level of competition, and a steeper learning curve to the game, especially in the online environment. Not everyone has the mental abilities to absorb vast amounts of information in a short period of time, but every poker player who wants to be a winning player should be able to find it in him to commit at least to trying to learn new strategy as often as possible.
